Gathering demographic information from surveys

Where do you live? What do you do? How much do you earn? Pardon the personal questions, but gathering demographic information from questions like these is a great way to better understand your audience.

Demographic information allows you to better understand certain background characteristics of an audience, whether it’s their age, race, ethnicity, income, work situation, marital status, etc. By asking demographic questions in surveys, you can gather demographic information about current and potential customers at scale, and in turn, help you design a market segmentation strategy to reach the right clients.

What’s the definition of demographic survey questions? And more importantly, how should you use them in your surveys? Get answers to these questions and more in this article, with detailed tips for implementing them, and tools to analyze demographic information. You’ll also find specific sample survey questions and demographic examples that you can apply in your own questionnaire.

What are demographic questions?

Simply put, demographic questions are any question(s) that aim to better understand the identity of a particular respondent.

Demographic surveys (surveys that use demographic questions) seek basic information about respondents that allows the survey designer to understand where each person fits in the general population.

Now, what do all these examples have in common? They’re all concrete characteristics that help narrow down which market segment the people in your target audience best fit into. That means you can split a larger group into subgroups based on, say, income or education level. Demographic questions are key to this process, but why do market segmentation in the first place?

Why you should collect demographic information

Marketers are one group of professionals who have a lot to gain from asking demographic questions.The more they know about their target population, the higher the chances their messaging will resonate with their desired audience.

Think of how different your marketing efforts would be if you knew that most of your target population is composed of married men in a high-income bracket rather than single female college students. Or what if you were aiming for male retirees in California instead of female executives in the Midwest? Knowing a little about your target audience can make a big difference.

This kind of information is useful in many scenarios: You can benefit from it when developing products, measuring ad effectiveness, providing health services, understanding public opinion—even selling cars.

What demographic information is good for

Anyone—regardless of their sector or industry—can benefit from finding relevant information about their audiences with SurveyMonkey demographic surveys.

The questions from SurveyMonkey’s demographic survey templates allow you to segment audiences on the basis of income, gender, location, and other factors.

Visit this link to find several use-cases for running demographic research.

Question examples for gathering demographic information

SurveyMonkey has many expert-designed survey templates you can use straight out of the box, or as a reference to build your own customized questionnaire.

You can also use the certified questions available in the Question Bank, which is a great option in case you need to insert just a few demographic questions in a broader survey—a pretty common practice.

The following are some examples of good demographic survey questions:

Age

Which category below includes your age?

17 or younger

18-20

21-29

30-39

40-49

50-59

60 or older

Race

Are you White, Black or African-American, American Indian or Alaskan Native, Asian, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, or some other race?

White

Black or African-American

American Indian or Alaskan Native

Asian

Native Hawaiian or other Pacific islander

From multiple races

Some other race (please specify)

Pro tip: For demographic questions like the last one, it’s a good idea to add an “Other (please specify)” answer option. This type of answer option gives respondents a text box to self-identify.

Gender

What is your gender?

Female

Male

Other (specify)

Note that the last question requires a text box for the respondent to self-identify.

Marital status

Are you now married, widowed, divorced, separated, or never married?

Married

Widowed

Divorced

Separated

Never married

Education

What is the highest level of school you have completed or the highest degree you have received?

Less than high school degree

High school degree or equivalent (e.g., GED)

Some college but no degree

Associate degree

Bachelor degree

Graduate degree

Employment

Which of the following categories best describes your employment status?

Employed, working 1-39 hours per week

Employed, working 40 or more hours per week

Not employed, looking for work

Not employed, NOT looking for work

Retired

Disabled, not able to work

Household income

How much total combined money did all members of your household earn in 2010?

$0 – $9,999

$10,000 – $19,999

$20,000 – $29,999

$30,000 – $39,999

$40,000 – $49,999

$50,000 – $59,999

$60,000 – $69,999

$70,000 – $79,999

$80,000 – $89,999

$90,000 – $99,999

$100,000 or more

Some demographic survey templates you can use

Now that you’ve seen what sample demographic questions actually look like, you can check out some ready-to-use demographic survey templates.

The following are templates, that include demographic survey questions, straight from the minds of SurveyMonkey’s expert survey methodologists:

* Please note that some demographics templates are available in English only at this time.

In addition to the six questions posed in the Snapshot Template, this 12-question template asks about geographic location, housing, marital status, ethnicity, business or farm ownership, and personal income.

SurveyMonkey offers many other demographic survey templates, including Commuting, Household Budget, General Internet Usage, Language Proficiency, Mobile or Cell Phone Use, and U.S. Military Service.

How to easily create demographic surveys

Online surveys are a great way to reach a broad audience. You can post demographic questionnaires to your website, send them through email, or ask for responses through Facebook and other social media channels.

If you need help reaching the right target audience, you can rely on a service that will get you enough respondents to conduct a successful survey with the right demographic mix. SurveyMonkey Audience not only makes it easy to find people who will take your survey, it also eliminates the need for them to even answer demographic questions.

How? Well, you can send your questionnaire to a selected group of respondents based on the demographic targets you want to reach. SurveyMonkey Audience knows who is taking the survey and therefore it can automatically pipe in five types of demographic information (gender, age, household income, device used to take the survey, and location) directly into your results. This saves the respondent time and ensures you’re reaching the right people.

Using the Filter and Compare tools in SurveyMonkey Analyze, you can easily compare and contrast how different demographic groups answer your questions. This makes demographic segmentation and data analysis with SurveyMonkey Audience even easier.

9 great tips for an effective demographic questionnaire

You’re almost ready to create your own demographic questionnaire… but first, how about reviewing some tips to make sure that you implement the best practices in survey methodology?

Think about your survey goal… Every survey starts when a goal is set. Looking at your main objective makes it easier to determine which demographic questions you will need to include.

Be mindful of your audience. Keep phrasing respectful in demographic questions, since many of them deal with matters of personal identity like gender, race, ethnicity, etc.

Know when to get personal. Just like an in-person conversation, first establish rapport with your respondent, then ask about personal matters. Read more on this post about sensitive questions.

Don’t let numbers overlap. As in the income question example above, make sure that no two responses include the same number. For example, if one age bracket covers 50 to 59 years old, make sure the next one starts at 60—not at 59.

Make responses anonymous. Many people are sensitive about offering their personal information. Demographic information examples where this can ring true, include: income level, employment status, race, and ethnicity. If you’re surveying for broad demographic patterns or trends, consider making responses anonymous—and be sure to let your respondents know that’s the case.

Explain the purpose of your survey. In a brief introduction, tell your respondents how you’ll use the information. For example: “We want to know more about our customers and what they want. This information will help us put together the right mix of products and services to ensure your satisfaction.”

Make your survey as accessible as possible. Reach as many people as possible. All of SurveyMonkey’s survey designs are accessible by U.S. Section 508 standards, and you can deliver them online in a variety of ways.

Be brief. Shorter surveys are easier for respondents to complete. Let them know how long yours will take.

Ready to use demographic questions in your surveys?

With this comprehensive guide to asking demographic questions on surveys, you’re ready to ask your target audience for all the information that you may need for your next project. Start your own survey now→